Chapter 5
FIVE
ANABELLE
Lucas shakes free of my grasp. “These items seemed out of place. Let’s go, Nolan.”
The man is infuriating. But I paste on a smile for my son. “Have fun, bud.” No need for him to be caught in the middle of my…situation with Lucas. Whatever that situation may be.
The last thing I expected was for Lucas to be playing shopkeeper in my store.
But why would he do that? Did he think my store was a mess or something?
It was a little disorganized after the weekend rush, and I haven’t had time to straighten the shelves.
The truth is, I’m behind on everything. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day. But I don’t let that get me down.
Mrs. Wheaton is browsing the local honey section, and I can only hope she’s here to shop instead of stirring up trouble. Not that she thinks she’s doing that. She probably thinks she’s being helpful. Aubrey’s mom means well. She just says whatever she thinks.
She brings up some soap, honey, and two stuffies I crocheted. A pig and a turtle. “For the grandkids.” She smiles.
I quirk a brow at her. “You don’t have grandkids.”
“Well, you know, Aubrey did just meet someone.”
Wait. She’s buying toys for Aubrey’s future children? “She told you about that?” I ask, ringing her up.
“Oh, no. I heard about it from Sully’s mom when we were both at the ice cream shop. She overheard Sully and Aubrey talking the other night.”
Aubrey and Sully used to be roommates, so it made sense that Aubrey would have told her.
Mrs. Wheaton looks hurt. “I only wish Aubrey trusted me enough to tell me herself.”
I hold back a sigh and let her know the total so she could swipe her card. I’m not saying a word about any of this to Mrs. Wheaton. In fact, I don’t know too many details. Aubrey hasn’t told me yet.
Once she leaves, I go into my office and turn on my favorite video of affirmations to help get my mindset back in a place of positivity. Because hanging around Lucas has me turning into a grump, too. Something about that man gets under my skin.
Outside the window to my office, Lucas and Nolan are visible, and seeing them working together twists something in my insides. I turn my focus back to the laptop when my affirmations are over. I still need to listen for the door. If I can’t get our profits up, I’ll have to let Eliza go.
I get up and sweep the store since it’s been a minute, deep in thought about how to fix my situation.
The door swings open, and Aubrey comes in. “Hey, girl! I saw Lucas and Nolan together out there.” She waggles her eyebrows at me. “I feel like you two would make a good couple.”
“You’re as bad as your mom.”
She grins. “What did she say this time?”
“She thought Lucas and I were dating.”
“You know my mom is very good at predicting these things. She has a sixth sense.”
I keep sweeping beneath some of the shelves where dust likes to collect. “Well, this time, she’s wrong.”
“That’s what Lauren thought when my mom pictured her with Chase. And Lauren couldn’t stand him. Even since high school.”
“I know. Lauren has told me the story many times over the years when she’s done my hair.”
“Speaking of, when’s the last time you had a trim?” She walks up and takes a piece of my hair, examining the bottom. “You’re full of split ends and damage from heat.” She gives me a stern look. “You deserve to be taking care of yourself better. You should see if Lauren has any availability.”
I nod. “It’s been too long since I’ve gotten my hair done. You’re right. I need to be pampering myself. In fact, I think I’ll get some new highlights.”
“That’s the spirit!” Aubrey cheers.
“Would you ever let Lauren change your hair color?” I ask, eyeing her bright red waves.
“Never! Only haircuts for me. I’ve never changed this color.” She grins like she’s won the lottery. “People pay a lot of money to get this shade.”
“You’re not wrong,” I say.
The floor seems to be clean enough, so I put the broom behind the counter where the register is. Aubrey walks over to the candles and picks one up, sniffing it.
“How’s that new candle you bought working for you?” I ask, finally building up the courage to tell Aubrey her mom’s been going around talking about her love life.
She sets the candle down and turns to me, blushing. “It’s brought me good luck!”
“Ooh. Do tell!”
She walks over to where I’m lounging against the counter. “Nothing too exciting happened, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“That surprises me. He didn’t try to kiss you?”
“Not yet. But we did cuddle and watch a movie.”
“This is kind of big for you. You don’t date much.”
Aubrey shrugs. “I’m too busy building the dream.”
“So how did your dinner go?”
She grimaces. “I burned the rolls, but he didn’t mind.”
“I need to tell you something,” I blurt. “Your mom was in here earlier. She was buying some of my crocheted creatures for your future kids.”
“My who?” Aubrey’s eyes go wide.
“She said you met someone.”
“What? How did she find out?”
I fill her in on the details just as the door to the shop opens, and Lucas and Nolan come inside.
Aubrey’s face switches from annoyance to this knowing, raised eyebrows look. What’s that supposed to mean? She can take her knowing looks and shove them in the dumpster because there’s nothing to “know” here.
“Mom! Lucas taught me how to do a K-Block!”
“That’s great.” Not that I know what that means.
Lucas must have noticed the lost expression on my face because he says, “It’s a blocking technique where the goalie drops one knee while extending the other leg in a K shape. It’s kind of like forming a human wall.”
“A human wall,” I say. “That sounds painful.”
“It can be.” Lucas smirks. “Unless you know what you’re doing.”
Lucas’s gaze sears into me, and I go hot all over my body.
It takes me a moment to find my words. “Thank you for today,” I say to him.
“It’s not a problem,” Lucas says.
Silence hangs awkwardly, and Aubrey looks between us, trying to suppress a grin and failing miserably.
I grab my Stanley cup and take a sip of my water for something to do.
Nolan screws up his mouth into a grossed-out expression. “You guys aren’t going to kiss, are you?”
I choke on my water and cough because it went down the wrong pipe. “No!” I cough. “Why would you say such a thing?” Cough. Cough.
“Just a vibe I was picking up,” Nolan says, like he’s fifteen instead of ten. Actually, he’s almost eleven. His birthday is coming up. “I’ve watched enough of your romance movies to know, Mom.”
“There’s no vibe!” I insist before coughing again.
Lucas rounds the counter to me and pats me on the back. His hand is warm through the fabric of my shirt. “You okay?”
I cough again, but nod.
“There’s definitely a vibe,” Aubrey says.
Lucas glares at her. Good. At least we’re on the same page.
She shrugs. “I’m just calling it like I see it.”
“Nolan, grab your backpack. We need to get you home for dinner.”
“Maybe you can get Mr. Grumpy to take the two of you out,” Aubrey suggests.
He grunts in response, eyes dark and broody, like he doesn’t appreciate the joke.
“I already have food waiting for us in the crockpot.” I smile brightly at him.
“Maybe some other time.” Or never. Even if I were interested in pursuing something with Lucas, it would be a terrible idea.
He’s my son’s mentor. What if we went on a few dates and didn’t work out?
That would put Nolan in a terrible position.
Aubrey and Lucas blessedly leave soon after, and I close down the shop for the night. As we head out to the car after locking up, Nolan turns to me.
“If you did want to go on a date with Lucas, I wouldn’t mind.”
Great. Now we’re back to my favorite subject. “You don’t need to worry about that, buddy. I don’t think I’ll be dating anyone anytime soon.” We climb into the car, and I crank up the engine.
“Why not? Don’t you deserve your happily ever after?” Nolan asks.
I pull out of my parking spot and head toward home. “I have it already. You bring me all the joy I need, and I have my own self-love.”
“You say you’re happy, but I don’t think you are.”
Ouch. Am I really unhappy? “The only thing you need to think about is getting your homework done and getting a healthy dinner in your tummy.”
Nolan sighs like this is annoying to him. “You always say that.”
It’s true. He’s always trying to dig into adult subjects. The boy is mature for his age, and he’s already had to deal with deeper issues than he should. Having parents split, with one moving across the country, will do that to you.
We pull up to our brick mid-century home on a side street right off Main Street in Maple Creek. My tulips and daffodils have started popping up in my front flower bed, and my azaleas are set to bloom within the next month.
“Guess what I found?” I say in an attempt to distract him. “A new Star Wars crochet pattern. This one is for BB8.”
“Cool! Are you going to make it for me?” He knows he gets the first version of a new pattern I’m trying before the subsequent ones make it to the store.
We climb out of the car and head into the house. As soon as we open the front door, we’re met with the smell of meat and potatoes cooking.
“Did you make roast again?” Nolan asks.
I ruffle his hair. “Yep. Go put your cleats away and hop in the shower so you’re clean for dinner.”
“Oh, come on, Mom. I hate showers. Dad wouldn’t make me!” he protests.
But his dad isn’t here, is he? “Don’t talk back to me and obey what I tell you, or you’ll get yourself some extra chores.
” I learned my lesson a long time ago—if he doesn’t shower after soccer, I’ll have to eat dinner next to his stench.
Boy moms deserve medals for what we endure.
And it’ll only get worse. He already has to wear deodorant.
My boy is growing up more every day, and his dad is missing all of it.
While he showers, I set the table and shoot a message to Lauren about trimming and refreshing my balayage. I’ve been reading up on self-love, and experts agree that pampering myself is a good way to increase it. Because if I need anything after that divorce, it’s a little pampering.
Nolan still isn’t out of the shower, so I put together some brownies and pop them in the oven. After the day I’ve had, I need some chocolate. And I use my healthy recipe with black beans so they’re a bit more guilt free.
Nolan comes out in a Darth Vader shirt and sweatpants.
The kid is Star Wars obsessed and has his entire room covered in Star Wars décor, from the bedding to the posters on the wall to the shelves lined with books, games, and figurines from the franchise.
Not to mention the collection of stuffies I crocheted for him.
The third bedroom of our house has my yarn collection on one side and my desk on the other.
Nolan and I dish up our plates. Instead of slicing the roast, I allowed it to fall apart in the slow cooker, which is my favorite way to do it. That way, we can fish out chunks of meat.
I chew my food, savoring the comfort of it after a long day. Is there some truth to Nolan’s words? Am I actually unhappy? And is there a vibe between Lucas and me?
I’m not exactly sure I mind the idea, if I’m being honest with myself.